Unemployment Benefits
by lizardcookie
Summary: With job applications due in less than a week, James Potter struggles understand the stupidity of society, Lily Evans is forced to make decisions she had never considered necessary, and Albus Dumbledore leaves them both confused. One-shot.


"And if I must say so myself, this year has been very interesting so far with you as Heads. Continue the excellent work, Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans."

The pair smiled at him from their seats across the desk, satisfied with their own work as well. The dignified response, however, was cut short when James poorly covered a yawn.

"Ah! But look at the time." Dumbledore shook his robe away from his wrist and stared at a silver watch fixed with everything but clock hands. "Terribly sorry that our meeting has gone so late. And you've got a busy week ahead! Completing job applications for Professor  
McGonagall has always been a stressful time for Seventh Years."

James simply nodded, his dormitory bed on his mind. If he had glanced over to his left, he would have noticed the slight falter to Lily's smile as she stood up, ready to leave the scrutiny of Dumbledore who _had_ noticed the break in her composure.

"Thank you, professor."

"Same time in two weeks?" questioned James, rising as well.

"Until then. Goodnight!"

Lily and James both turned towards the doors, arms brushing as they did so. The moment the gargoyle jumped aside to allow their exit into the main corridor, James grabbed Lily's hand in his (a feeling he found he'd never tire of).

"Reckon' Filch will still land us in detention for wandering around after a meeting with Dumbleldore?"

"Most definitely." This time, James _did_ catch the forced half smile she sent his way.  
He squinted down at Lily. "What's wrong?"

She didn't reply, opting to keep her head down instead of acknowledging the question. James stopped walking, forcing Lily to face him only a few meters from the guard gargoyles. Something was bothering Lily if she wasn't even answering the question— she was never one to avoid situations, one of the reasons why it used to be so fun provoking her temper in Fifth Year. Now provoking her lead to an entirely different situation that may or may not lead to a ruined  
school uniform or broom closest... But that was beside the point.

"Lily." Saying her name half sternly, half coaxingly was all Lily needed. Still not looking up, however, she began to dig in her bag until she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it to James, a blank look on her face. He took it, wondering just what was going  
on, and read. It was a pamphlet for the magical research position James had heard Lily babble on about since the end of Third Year— her dream job. There was nothing filled out on the application.

"Procrastinating, Evans?" James questioned with humor, trying to joke through his confusion. Lily was acting rather strangely over being a little behind in filling out preliminary applications that were due in four days. "What kind of example is this?"

"Not procrastinating," Lily turned her head to stare into the empty corridor beyond. "I'm not applying."

"What?" James dropped his smile, understandably baffled. "Lily, that job is what you've been dying to do. I've heard you babble on and on about it since Third Year. If you're afraid you aren't qualified or something, then-"

"No, it's not that. If it were a matter of skill, then I'd have that job in seconds." She shook her head, eyes closed. "No, James, I..." and once more, Lily dug into her bag. "Here. Look at this one."

He glanced down at the application. "The Charms experimentation job? You've looked into this one before, but the benefits for a-"

She cut him off. "Look at the bottom."

James moved to pamphlet closer to his eyes as he searched for what Lily was trying to point out, and froze in anger as he read the words _"Must present proof of wizarding blood before applying. No__exceptions."_

James let the words sink in, fury at the complete display of Muggleborn discrimination. So far, overall Wizarding society had been able to avoid casual hate such as this, but… James clenched the paper in his fist. The outright _stupidity _of some witches and wizards baffled him. If businesses believed that they could function by ignoring the talent of Muggleborns, or even Half Bloods, then they were completely mad. A smaller pool of a workforce would mean a slowing in potion breakthroughs, spell inventing, wizard disease cures… Society would crumble even more than it already had. There were less than thirty Pureblood families left, and half of them were dying anyway. Voldemort and his followers attack the very people who ensure the continuity of wizards in England and neighboring places in Europe. James looked up, and saw that Lily was staring sadly at him in return.

"This is... That's sickening. Fuck it, Lily. Fuck it all. Because you're the best goddamned Charms wiz in our year, and bigots like these don't come near to deserving your talent." James crumpled the pamphlet and proceeded to char tiny holes all around the paper with  
his wand, mind burning similarly in anger. She reached out to grab the charred pamphlet from his fists and threw it down the corridor, rolling her eyes.

"It's great to know my boyfriend's a pyromaniac, yeah?" Watching the pamphlet slowly burn, Lily sighed as she sat down and leaned against the wall.. "I didn't want that position anyway, but... Don't you see? Mary didn't even come back to school this year, Marcus Short plans on living in the Muggle world permanently, and Laurel Tate's family was massacred just two weeks ago. Muggleborns, all of them, just like me. I'm no coward." Lily looked at James fiercely in the eye, a blazing look on her face. "I'd never put my family in danger by moving back home, and I wouldn't want to go back in the first place. I'm not hiding from my blood-status and I'm not hiding from this war. I'm going to fight back. I don't know how, and I don't know with whom, but there must be people out there who are. There has to be." Lily finished, voice rising slightly in her speech. And to _her_ utter confusion, James smiled at her. More than smiling, James was positively beaming. She didn't know what James' reaction would be to her decision, but the look she was getting was not it.

"Have I told you how much I love you recently? Because you're bloody fantastic, you know that?" They were still sitting in front of the gargoyle, but James scooted closer to Lily and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a peck on the forehead. She leaned her head  
against him, smiling because of his comment, and also because she could smell James' distinctive after shave. The corridors were frigid in the late January weather, and the cold stone penetrated the layers of their Muggle clothing quickly. Lily snuggled closer to James for more warmth, her head resting on his chest as she felt his steady heart beat keep time.

"You don't think I'm dumb?" It was the question that Lily struggled with answering herself. She was possibly throwing away her chances at any career she could ever have in this decision to not job hunt, to not even take a measly part time job as a waitress anywhere— which was, according to a recent editorial, a service job proper and safe for someone of her birth and gender.

"Have I ever thought you dumb?" James shook his head. "It's brilliant.  
You're brilliant. In fact, that's the most logic I've heard since we started talking about what'll happen after graduation. The only problem is," James had begun to stroke her hair in thought, "well, I guess the real problem is finding out how the resistance _is_ functioning. They're smart, they don't let The Prophet in on anything. We'd have to find them ourselves."

Lily's head jerked up. "We? You'll fight with me?"

James rolled his eyes. "Merlin Lily, I just said I never thought you were dumb. Of course I'm fighting with you. That's not even a question."

"You don't have to." Lily looked earnestly at James. "I'm serious, James, it's going to be dangerous. You have no obligation to fight, you've got your family name for all the protection you need. You don't need to give up Quidditch for this." Scouts were going to be coming to  
the next two Gryffindor matches for teams to recruit him, and he could lose it all by agreeing to this.

"It's going to be dangerous? Are you kidding me, Lily?" James found himself suddenly annoyed at Lily and took his arm away from her shoulders, crossing them in front of his chest as he rotated to face her. "As if I'd _ever _use my Potter name to save myself. Besides, we weren't even listed on that blasted Pureblood Directory. My parents made public speeches years ago in Voldemort's early days. If anything, my name hinders me. And you, Lily! You're in more danger than the average Muggleborn, you know that, right? Death Eaters target the talented and powerful Muggleborns because you're the 'most offensive' to Pureblood elitism and because you're the most likely to be able to become a rallying figure. Your status as Head Girl is going to set you apart, let alone the Slytherins in our year who have probably mentioned your name to their families." His hands began to tug through his hair, the nervous tick he developed from foolishly attempting to impress Lily never quite going away. "And you're telling _me_ it's going to be dangerous. There's no way in hell you're in this alone. We're going to fight together... And so are Sirius, Remus, and Peter. You're not the only one with this idea, Lily. Just the only one with the plan."

She grabbed James' hands from his hair as he had done to her earlier in the night and laced her fingers through his.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was afraid of how you'd react at first... I didn't want to have to lose both my job and you because of this."

"Like I'd let some stupid war take you away from me."

"So we're going to do this?"

"Fight? Yes."

"Be unemployed?"

"I've got houses move in ready." said James simply. "We'll have each other and the other Marauders to have our backs."

Lily smiled, because the thought of being with James outside of the walls of school was something that she valued above all else.

"You know what you just agreed to, right?" Lily stood up, straightening down her skirt and looking James in the eye. "You offered an unemployed witch a house and therefore food, meaning that you'll never get rid of me."

James stood up as well, towering over Lily as he trapped her between the wall and himself.

"That was the plan all along," he said, cupping her face in his hands as Lily smiled widely and stood tiptoe, ready to meet James' lips for a kiss when the gargoyles that guarded the Headmaster's office jumped apart. Lily gave James a horrified look as she threw him away  
from her just in time for Dumbledore to come into full view.

"Idling about the corridors does not due well these days, I'm afraid. Even for our two Heads." Eyes gleaming at what he had clearly just interrupted, Dumbledore chuckled as he walked past the pair. Lily fidgeted with her shirt as James passed a hand threw his hair.

"We- we were just on our way back." James started, earning an eye roll from Lily. The Head meeting had ended a good half an hour ago. Dumbledore turned around to look at them, still grinning.

"We'll just go then," Lily muttered, and shuffled passed Dumbledore with her head low as James followed, hands in his pockets trying to look casual. They made it to the end of the hallway before Dumbledore spoke again.

"Ah, but Miss Evans, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore peered over his spectacles at the pair, the playful sparkle in his eye gone. "I do hope you were serious when you said you wanted to fight back... We'll be in touch about that soon enough."

Lily and James stared back at the professor, equally confused by his words.

"Sir, what-?"  
"Goodnight, Miss Evans! Mr. Potter, until next time."


End file.
